Personal Finance Advice

One of the best ways to save money and be frugal is to find ways to reuse things that can no longer be used for their intended purpose. I’ve gotten pretty good at this over the years, finding uses for jars, spare parts, newspaper, old clothes and many more items that most people just throw [...]

Last week, Florida had its first real cold spell of the season. When I went outside to let our dog stretch his legs after a night indoors, I could see my breath and I very much regretted leaving the house without at least two more layers of clothing. While we did not get [...]

I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m really about fifty-eight years old. Mentally, at least. In actuality I’m in my upper thirties. But if you look at my lifestyle, my spending choices, and my account balances, I’m much closer to someone who is nearing retirement. Financially I’ve always been about twenty years older than [...]

Since I love to read, I have to admit that I’ve been drooling a bit over the Kindle and now the Nook eReaders. I love the idea of being able to carry a ton of books with me when I travel without throwing out my back. I like the thought of freeing up some shelf [...]

I tend to be way behind the technology curve. Heck, I finally got a Wii two months ago, three years after the system came out. It’s not that I don’t like technology; I do and I’m always reading up on new gadgets to see what developments are coming. It’s just that I’ve found that [...]

Many people want to be out of debt. They talk about it and they may even take steps toward the goal. They may make up their minds that they will never have debt (again) and that may become their mantra. They may have the best can-do attitude out there. Yet they may still fail. Why? [...]

We’re heading toward the time of year when thoughts turn to New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you’re making some specific financial resolutions: To get out of debt, save for a home, increase your retirement savings, or cut your grocery spending. Those are great ideas, but even if your resolutions aren’t specifically financial, your hard work to [...]

What a lot of people don’t realize is that there is a lot of research and planning to get you to spend more when you walk into a store. Lee Eisenberg,the author of “Shoptimism” says that the retail outlets are experts at playing on your emotions, your perceptions and your lack of critical reasoning.
What [...]

I had to go out the other day to run some errands and I got caught in the Christmas shopping rush. At Target, people were pushing carts heaped with toys through the aisles and there was a beat down going on in the toy department over a shipment of Zhu Zhu pets. I overheard someone [...]

My business definitely qualifies as a small business. I hope that it will someday grow into a bigger business but, for now, it is just me doing what I do. That is fine because my clients know that they will get quality service from me even though I am not backed by an army [...]

I’ve noticed that some respondents to my previous articles seem to think that I’m living a life of deprivation because I choose to save money aggressively and live debt free. I want to set the record straight: A debt free life is not a poor life; it’s not a life of deprivation and suffering. It’s [...]

A recent article in Woman’s Day magazine stated that the average household goes through a ream of printer paper every three to four days and spends about $60 every three months for printer cartridges and paper. That’s $240 per year on printer supplies. Ouch. Our household spends far less than that — about $60 per [...]

If you know that you are going to have your car for a long time, buying parts with a lifetime warranty can make a lot of sense, even if those parts are more expensive than others that are available. That is a lesson that can be learned from Rachel and her car named Chariot. She [...]

When thoughts turn to getting more cash every month, many people assume that they’ll have to take a second job. That may be true. If your financial situation is dire or if you have your heart set on some big ticket item, a second job may be the only way to get to the necessary [...]

Christmas is less than three weeks away. In past years, I would have completed my shopping by now. Indeed, in past years my shopping has always been done by about the middle of October. This year presents new challenges and I don’t know what to do about them. My kids are [...]

Many times I hear people say, “It’s great that you’re debt free, but I’ll never be able to do that. I’ll always have a some kind of debt,” and then they elaborate on why they can never be without a car payment, mortgage, credit card balance, etc. “It’s just the way things, are,” they’ll finally [...]

When I discuss frugality and money saving strategies with those who are just starting down the frugal road, one of the things they always want to know is, “What can I buy that will help me become more frugal?” I always have to swallow a chuckle because buying things to become frugal is oxymoronic. You [...]

Have you ever wondered why the look of fast food is always so much different in the ads than it is in reality? It’s because they hire professional food make-up artists to make the food look better than it ever could in real life. This is how the commercials and print ads fool you into [...]

My friend is an aging veteran of WWII, having served in Europe and returned home with all of the horrific memories that combat service indelibly writes on the minds of those who experience it. After the war, he married a woman he loved and returned to a normal life, at least as normal as [...]

It was bound to happen someday. I lost my cell phone the other day. I had it in the side pocket of my car door. At some point while running errands it must have fallen out and I didn’t notice until I got home. I retraced my steps but I couldn’t find my phone. I [...]